North Texas Star (Mineral Wells, Tex.), January 2009 Page: 4 of 39
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Palo Pinto County Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the East Parker County Genealogy and Historical Society.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
January 2 009 • NORTH TEXAS STAR STORYTELLER & RAMBLER • Page 4
the tale of a young genius
oseph Mitchell had built a career of
painting word portraits of the eccentrics
he encountered in and around the "Big
9 Apple" for The New Yorker magazine.
*7Mitchell wrote for The New Yorker, but he
wasn't actually a New Yorker. He was a
native of North Carolina, where his family
had traded in cotton and tobacco for more
than a century and had all of the baggage that
went with that. Being a native of the South
and a resident of New York City, Mitchell was
certainly no stranger to eccentricity. But he'd
never met anyone like Josephine "Jody"
Cogdell-Schuyler.
After years of developing proof to validate
her sociological theory, Jody, as she was called
by her friends and family, saw Mitchell as a
vehicle on the path to further her carefully
planned publicity campaign heralding the
results of her theory. Jody, daughter of a Texas
cattle baron, believed in "hybrid vigor." She
felt strongly that interracial marriage would
result in a class of people who were superior
physically, socially and intellectually.
She also believed that interracial marriage
was the solution to a majority of the social ills
plaguing America.
Jody's proof of her theory came in the form
of her daughter, Philippa Duke Schuyler.
Philippa was 9 years old when Mitchell inter-
viewed her, but by then she was a pro at the
public relations game.
As indicated by his article, Mitchell was
truly smitten with the child. His profile of her,
entitled, "Evening With A Gifted Child," has
been called one of his best. But between the
lines of the article there seems to lurk a subtle
undertone of something mixed in with the
wonder. Was it pity, perhaps?
Josephine Cogdell was born in Granbury,
Texas, the youngest child of Daniel and Lucy
Continued on page 5
The Granbury home josephine Cogdell grew up in.
A B>y Marsha B-rowi/v A
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View two places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
May, David. North Texas Star (Mineral Wells, Tex.), January 2009, newspaper, January 1, 2009; Mineral Wells, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1099337/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting East Parker County Genealogy and Historical Society.